“Why don’t you just know how to help me?!”

I used to lament this. I couldn’t work out why someone couldn’t automatically guess what I needed when I was in pain.

Then I realised… I’d never told them.

Enter, the table….

So simple, yet so effective! It changed everything for me in terms of my loved ones being able to help when I’m not feeling great.

Top reasons why I recommend creating your own table:

1. You can do it when you are feeling a little better, really take time over it and do it with a clear head.

2. You can list all sorts of symptoms/problems that might flare, and how to help them differently.

3. Your loved ones almost definitely want to help when you’re ill, but as we all know, some of their well intentioned actions can actually make things worse. This removes all guesswork for them.

4. It also means they’re not asking you how they can help when you’re in the thick of pain. It’s been pre-organised. They can jump into action, you can lie back and get the help you need.

5. You can customise this however you want. Need a checklist for when you need to go to A&E/ER? Take that decision out of your hands/disorientated brain, and give it to someone else.

You might want to have some additional ‘understandings’ in place, such as “anything I say, at the time, overrides anything on the table”. This is meant to be a flexible system!

Free Printable!

I made a little something for you… a pretty version of my table that you can customise to fit your needs!

How_To_Help_Ill_Me (editable)| How To Help Ill Me (plain for printing)

How do you communicate with your friends and family how to best help you when you’re ill? I’d love if you shared in the comments below!

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